MetaVerse Episode 23: Seasons Change
We kiss Summer goodbye and welcome in the Fall anime season
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:47:14 — 83.9MB)
Welcome to a new podcast from us! This week, the Metacast of Foshizzel, lvlln, Sushi and yours truly get together to talk about Summer shows and Fall shows. A lot of discussion about Campione’s big kissing scene, lvlln’s thoughts on feminism in various animes and also our Top 3. Without an opportunity to put our thoughts on the Fall ’12 season to text form, us guys talk about what we’re anticipating and expecting from this new batch of anime. Enjoy and we’ll be back soon! (hopefully Kyokai will. I miss Kyokai…)
(The episode was recorded last week, so there won’t be spoilers for the ending of shows like Campione! or episode 13 of Sword Art Online. And I totally called that Renton scene.)
SHOW NOTES
00:00 – 00:44 – Intro (lvlln’s pick: “Oato ga Yoroshikutte…Yo!” by Ayane Sakura from Joshiraku)
00:45 – 09:38 – MetaPowuh — News on Phi-Brain, Nekomonogatari and more.
09:39 – 16:05 – MetaFantasy –– Fosh & lvlln discuss the SaiMoe Fantasy League they’ve gotten involved with.
16:06 – 17:19 – Intermission (Fosh’s pick: “Bravblue” by FLOW from Eureka Seven AO)
MetaProject
- 17:20 – 1:11:16 – Discussion of Summer shows reaching their end
- 1:11:17 – 1:12:38 – Segment Break (“Q&A Recital” by Tomatsu Haruka from Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun)
- 1:12:39 – 1:43:29 – Fall shows we dudes are most anticipating
1:43:30 – 1:47:14 – Outro (Jrow’s pick: “Best Friends” by Yumi Kawamura from Persona 4 Arena)
About Meta Cast
The team behind Metanorn's Podcast, MetaVerse. Our aniblogging experience gives us the expertise to dish out detailed opinions on which series to watch and ones to drop. And remember, we take fangirling seriously!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Know the power of the Phi Brain cult, mortals!!! LOL. This has got to be the first and only anime I’ve seen getting so many seasons in such a short amount of time. Seriously, why can’t the other good animes get that kind privilege?
Looks like Fosh is really efficient in moe stuff. His avatar is sheer proof of it. Now I know who to consult on Metanorn concerning mecha and moe.
That Campione! kiss was the most provocative element in the entire show. I was literally asking myself what I was watching at the time. So much sexual innuendo there, they should have just gotten a room and get busy for real. Not even hentai style kissing was like that. It’s like sex but without the sex seeing as Godou threw Erica’s leg over his shoulder while in what looks like he has her in the missionary position. Maybe because the number viewers was going down, they had it in store as a last ditch effort to reel in some eyes. The Nisemonogatari toothbrush scene definitely got taken down a notch because of that.
Accel World was surely bittersweet but overall, it was an enjoyable ride with their technology and interaction between the characters. The one I won’t forget any time soon was the main villain of the second arc Nomi. I mean, the guy was pure evil, no redeeming qualities what-so-ever. No pity was shown from me the moment Haru finally put him down and was done in a great way. The noticeable element that it shares with Sword Art Online was that because of the tech, the players spend more time in the virtual world and gradually started rejecting the real world.
My top three animes for summer would be Rinne no Lagrange 2, Oda Nobuna no Yabou (Still need to watch the two remaining episodes, though) and Hyouka. I’ve watched others that season but they didn’t quite make the cut and I haven’t finished Koi Choco yet.
What I’m anticipating the most this Fall is: Jormungand: Perfect Order, Robotics;Notes, Psycho-Pass, Zetsuen no Tempest, Code:Breaker and K. There’s even Shin Sekai Yori that looks really promising. There are others but they are purely side interests. Robotics;Notes is one of the center interests because I missed Chaos;Head altogether and I’ve come to regret not watching Steins;Gate because of all the positive talk so I’m not leaving this one to chance. And what I’ve seen on Random Curiosity, there’s also Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD, Sankarea and Tasogare Otome x Amnesia which are icing on the cake.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Thanks BB! Mecha and Moe are my bread and butter <3
Great list of anticipated shows for fall! So far I loved K, Chuunibyou and I thought Btooom! and Zetsuen no Tempest were alright but I want Robotic;notes like NOW! What? More undead fun with zombies and ghosts? PERFECT-O!
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
What are you talking about, Phi Brain is my favourite anime ever! There is absolutely nothing in the world that trumps the power of puzzles.
Wow, those Saimoe punishment games…You guys are so creative. Run a mile and then record the time? Asking an otaku to do that should have interesting results ppfftt.
Really enjoyed the feminism discussion. :3 I’m so used to anime ganging up on women (literally and figuratively) that it doesn’t personally offend me in any way, but I do know it’s there. Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun has been getting a lot of backlash right now for the main male character threatening to rape the lead female. I haven’t actually watched it, but what do you guys think about it? It’s a shame it aired after you guys had the discussion :B
…By the way, Phi Brain treats women really badly too, but it’s mostly hilarious due to the nature of the show. Yes, I just brought that discussion full circle back to Phi Brain =w=
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
To me the rape comment in Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun was more WTF than anything else. Some people were upset about the end of the episode (a description would be a spoiler), and I get that, but my suspicion is that Suki-tte Ii na yo will be much worse.
Psycho Pass! I’m looking forward to this one as well.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I thought the rape comment in Tonari was pretty much solely an indication that Haru is just not a well-socialized person. I certainly didn’t think there was an actual threat in there (although Shizuku definitely did… for a second). And the guy hid under a box right after that, and ran away.
The rape threat that was far worse recently was the stopped-at-the-beginning gang rape they casually threw in Binbougami.
Maybe I’ll actually listen to the podcast, but they’re generally (well, actually I’ve never listened to a podcast) not my thing.
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
I rewatched the episode today, because the first time I was honestly unfazed by it. I came away with the same feeling Highway had about Haru as a character. I think if you contain the discussion to purely this show and the first episode’s dealings, then it doesn’t affect me too much. Different emotions will come out of it, and even my opinion considered, I can’t say others that felt offended or bothered by the line are wrong because people have different feelings and reactions to those kind of lines that border on sensitivity. I also think it doesn’t exactly matter if the act was not ultimately committed by Haru; him saying it was enough to imply intention even if he’s socially awkward.
EDIT: I feel like even though I wasn’t bothered by it, I’ve made enough of a case to myself to be bothered by it.
Tomb Raider dealt with this on a greater degree with the literally attempted rape scene in question. I didn’t like how the developers backed off of their words and quotes, and I can’t remember what ultimately came, but I would’ve been OK if it were in because I’m controlled enough of a person to know raping is wrong. She’s a woman getting in the line of fire with shady & smarmy men; they’re bound to be filthy to the point of wanting to sexually assault her should they capture her. Bad guys aren’t nice people and even though it isn’t a pleasant scenario, it’s definitely in the realm of possibility. The problem with that is the less intellectual gamers who see that, and then Fox News and other sources report thinking that Crystal Dynamics is putting rape in gamer’s minds, perversely promoting it. It’s too slippery a slope for developers to tread and it seems fiscally best to play it safe.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
@Highway: I can only listen to podcasts if I’m doing something else, like cooking or grinding in a video game. It helps to make things more interesting. *not-so-subtle push to get you to listen*
@Jrow: I think it’s fine to have rape in anime because it’s just another horrible thing that happens like murder or stealing. As long as it isn’t cast in a positive, glorified light saying “this is okay to do” then it’s fine. There should be some sort of message or implied tone that that what Haru does is wrong. And yes – intent and the actual act are both just as bad. It doesn’t sound like a very racy scene, but it’s very true that people have different sensitivities towards certain subjects…and this is a very touchy one for a lot of people. Rightly so.
Ahhh, wasn’t that the case where they said “rape isn’t in our vocabulary!” or something? It was a pretty dodgy situation :/ I think it’s not so bad in Tomb Raider because you’re the one being forcefully molested, and you want to get out. It’s not like you’re playing as the rapist, which would be considerably more offensive. But it is a pretty slippery slope as long as rape is involved. Not everyone can be a cool-headed gamer, and some people can’t help but be offended. Especially since if it’s in a game you aren’t just passively watching…you’re taking part in it (unless it’s a cutscene).
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
See, that’s what most people do. But I find that I cannot concentrate enough on listening to people talking when I am doing other things. So nearly the entirety of a podcast is lost on me when I am doing something else. I can check in sometimes, and hear some things, but if I’m not explicitly paying attention, then I really don’t follow what’s being talked about. The only exception to this might be when I’m driving. And my daily driving is on the order of 40 minutes, 10 minutes max at a time, so not really time to get into podcasts.
And the result of this is that I never want to spend my time listening to a podcast, even one of you guys. Sorry.
POWUH: 700-799 and Parkouring Fanboy with 776 comments
I actually haven’t seen Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun; it wasn’t really one I was paying attention to, since I’m generally not interested in that type of show. The shitstorm surrounding it hasn’t exactly made me want to watch.
One thing I find a funny coincidence is that the exact same, “I’ll rape you” line was used in Tsukihime, the original eroge. Of course, it’s much more expected in an eroge, but the context was actually similar, in that it wasn’t a true threat (ironically, Tsukihime does have plenty of rape scenes, just not there).
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Not my cup of tea either which is why I didn’t watch it, but the resulting backlash certainly made what looked like a dull show I’d completely forget stand out to me.
So the “I’ll rape you” was not an actual threat, but was meant to show us something about the character? I guess situations like that happen a lot in anime (and eroge, although those are more expected to revolve around sex), but certain ones end up standing out more to others so they get targeted just by chance. Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun doesn’t sound any more or less vulgar than a lot of other anime. Funny how it got beat down so hard.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It’s kind of odd. It was definitely a threat, but used solely as threatening *words*. The only way it could have been a viable threat of action was because we didn’t know about the character much, except that he had a violent side. And the threat of action evaporated instantly in the show.
I find it really hard to describe, but it was the kind of thing that was so out of place, and so out of what the character turns out to be, that it just didn’t feel like a viable threat. But it IS how the character turns out to be if you consider that he is someone who does not really understand the limits of conversation between people. What it really felt like was a kid making a grandiose threat that you knew he wouldn’t back up.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Phi brain! I love it so much! Why isn’t s3 here yet? COME ON we needs it so badly <3
POWUH: 400-499 with 489 comments
I seriously need to catch up on campione. That kiss scene is a must watch